Cricket: Rain washes away first T20

Black Caps player Nathan McCullum in action during the Twenty20 Cricket match between New Zealand and South Africa earlier this year. Photo / Dean Purcel

The Black Caps have one fewer game to prepare for this month's Twenty20 World Cup after rain saw their match against India abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The game in Visakhapatnam was to be the first of two Twenty20 encounters between the sides as they build up to the tournament in Sri Lanka.

But constant rain at ACA-VDCA Stadium meant the players never took the field, leaving Wednesday morning's match in Chennai the next chance for the New Zealand players to reacquaint themselves with the format.

The Black Caps also have two warm-up games, against Australia and South Africa, before their campaign begins against Bangladesh on September 21.

Today's match was set to mark the return to international cricket of Yuvraj Singh after his battle with cancer, but conditions intervened to frustrate thousands of fans who had flocked to the ground.